Building is divided based on 4 classifications, backgrounds

The Freeborn County Jail has three different units: general population, work release and FP. The FP unit used to house the jail’s female population but is now used to house male inmates.

Inmates at the jail are separated into four different classifications depending on their criminal history and other background information, which then determines which unit they will be housed in.

The general population unit has two units within it that are used for separating inmates from general population: administrative segregation and disciplinary. Inmates housed in administrative segregation are typically more high-profile inmates and need to be housed away from general population for their own safety. Inmates who have broken rules or regulations are housed in the disciplinary cell for different periods of time, depending on the level or severity of their infraction.

According to Assistant Jail Administrator Rick Overocker, the general population unit can house up to 60 inmates with one Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office officer on hand. If there are any more than 60, another officer needs to be in the unit. As of last week, there were 53 inmates in general population, and 107 inmates in the jail as a whole, said Overocker and Jail Administrator Mike Stasko.

According to Stasko, a minimum of five Freeborn County sheriff’s officers need to be in the facility at all times, and he typically staffs six.

Freeborn County inmates can only serve sentences in the jail up to one year, otherwise they are transferred to different facilities. Federal prisoners, Department of Corrections inmates and ICE inmates are also housed in the Freeborn County facility, and the length of time they spend in Freeborn County varies.